


and for my next trick, a robot

by Lux Remanet (orphan_account)



Series: Lightis Cinematic Universe [3]
Category: Fabula Nova Crystallis: Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy XIII Series, Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, F/M, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Transformers!AU, awkward!Noctis, lightis, nokurai
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-18
Updated: 2014-06-18
Packaged: 2018-02-05 02:58:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1802863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Lux%20Remanet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Step 1: Tell the universe you don't need a knight in shining armour.<br/>Step 2: Receive a knight in shining armour on your doorstep.</p>
            </blockquote>





	and for my next trick, a robot

**Author's Note:**

> For the Transformers!AU prompt as requested by ****[luci-fire](http://luci-fire.tumblr.com/)  
>  I heard it was Father's Day for some folks so this kinda took on that theme.  
> This might be a little late, but Happy Father's Day!  
> Enjoy!

THUNK!

Lightning's papers go flying through the air like frenzied doves escaping their cage while she falls backward onto her ass.  The solid wall she just bumped into is nothing but apologetic as he offers a— _why is he wearing driving gloves–_ hand. 

“Sorry, let me help you with that,” he says, and he bends to help her.

“I got this,” Lightning holds up a hand in his face, continuing to busy herself.  Her notes are numbered and categorized _for a reason_ and if this person helps, she knows she’s going to spend at least twenty minutes trying to sort them.  She finds a car magazine with a large oil stain on the cover and hands it over without looking up, but not before noting what is probably the most expensive-looking boots she’s ever seen. 

“Uh, thanks,” he says.  Except he doesn’t _leave_.  Nope, he drops to the floor next to her and starts helping.  He has the good sense to steer clear of any loose leaves and just picks up her books and pens, _thankfully_ ; so that lessens her irritation somewhat.    

She finds a calculator and some engineering textbooks centred on automotives amongst her things and hands them over, irked.  An engineering student majoring in law as well?

 _Daddy_ must _be ambitious._

After checking to see if everything is in order she realizes to her horror that one of her books is missing. Of all of them it has to be the one she slaves over the most. 

_Great, just—_

“Here,” he offers, but doesn’t automatically let go, implying he actually wants her acknowledgement. 

“Thanks," she mutters grudgingly, finally meeting a pair of serious dark blue eyes as the book changes hands. 

_Pretty boy, huh._

As if to give evidence to her assessment other female students nudge each other and giggle while they pass and give him the once-over.  He doesn’t appear to notice, but Lightning’s met enough of his type to know it could probably be an act...

…and yet, in spite of all that a tiny part of her still hopes it’s not the case—she’s only human, after all.

"Hi." He says, to fill the awkward silence, but in a tone that suggests that she's staring.

Really, _really_ human, Lightning decides, annoyed.  She quickly gets to her feet and he follows with a surprising grace that she envies.

"Final year law," she hears him say as she takes a final stock of her learning materials.  “Sounds hardcore.”

 _That’s a compliment, right?  Coming from someone who majors in both disciplines?_  

“Uh yeah,” Lightning glances up and down the suddenly empty hallway in case she’s missed any.  She’s about to leave him forever but it doesn’t hurt to have _one_ last look so she turns back to him.  It’s time to say something cool, she decides, something to leave a lasting impression-if her naturally pink hair isn’t already impressive enough. 

“Hey, thanks for the help but I actually have to get going now.”

Face?  Meet palm _._

"Some other time then," he says. Would you look at that; he genuinely looks disappointed at this.

"Yeah, sure," Lightning says, uncertain, but still walking away.  It’s not exactly a promise, but it’s not exactly burning bridges either.  And hey, if he takes law, chances are they’ll bump into each other again.

“This campus isn’t that big anyway,” he calls after her. 

_See._

As soon as the lecture room door closes behind her she exhales and pushes him right out of her mind.  She's never needed a knight in shining armour and she doesn't intend to start now.  

In hindsight, if _that_ wasn't the biggest invitation for the universe to rise to the challenge then she doesn’t know _what_ is, because the moment she sits down in the lecture and opens her laptop, a seemingly innocuous email with the subject titled: ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY’ is sitting in her Inbox. It’s not from Serah so her initial instinct is to promptly close her web browser and tune into the lecture, but the sender’s name catches her eye and every drop of blood in her body turns to ice. 

From: _Clair Farron._

Clair Farron is her father’s name. 

He’s been dead since she was three. 

* * *

She’s never believed in magic or fairy tales; never has, never will, but in the back of her mind even a realist like her has to admit there’s always been that tiny sliver of hope that she’ll never be able to stamp out.  Perhaps it's all to prepare her for the seventeen foot-tall knight in shiny white armour ‘ _pretending_ ’ to be a car worth more than the scholarship she’s on in her garage.  She’s presently glaring at said ‘pretend’ car because it apparently has too much pride to take on the form of a—and it definitely would not be too disingenuous for one in her financial situation to ask—more ‘attainable’ model. His name is ‘Odin’, according to the untraceable email from her deceased father who apparently; _was not actually deceased_ until it was received on her end.  Having never had the chance to meet the man himself the news of his ‘death’—the email literally began ‘If you are reading this, then I’m already dead’—doesn’t really sway her. 

The seventeen-foot _attachment_  to that email on the other hand… 

They’re currently locked in a potentially lethal (not to mention ludicrous)… ‘argument’—if you can call it that, because Odin’s voice box is ‘broken’ (maybe that’s a good thing)—which basically consists of a recently-turned twenty-one year old pink-haired woman clutching a wrench and yelling profanities at a pearl-white Audi R8 that responds (if it feels so ‘inclined’) with a series of varied rumblings of its engine.  Any casual observer can expect such an altercation to go…well, _nowhere_ to be sensibly honest, but it miraculously does everything _but_ ; because here’s the kicker: Lightning can actually understand the stupid organism.

If she really concentrates, she can hear snippets of a disembodied, very prideful, very, _very_ entitled robotic voice saying annoying little things along the lines of ‘STUPID’ and ‘STUBBORN’ and her personal favourite: ‘ROTTEN…LUCK’.  It makes absolutely no sense why this is so, and this fact only infuriates her more because they’ve been ‘arguing’ for the last  two hours about Odin taking it upon himself to annihilate her perfectly working, perfectly _inconspicuous_ Prius to make room for himself in her garage.

Her father’s email had implications about a conspiracy; that there would be people on the prowl for Odin; so in a weird way the thing’s logic makes perfect sense.  Unfortunately, her campus is a twenty minute drive away, her part-time workplace is an hour away and the nearest bus stop is a four block walk.  There’s no way she’s going to get her Prius back, she accepts that, but she’ll be damned if she doesn’t manage to wrestle an apology out of him.

“Just say sorry,” she says, brandishing the wrench threateningly “and I won’t ruin your paint job.  Two words: I’m.  Sorry.  That’s all you have to say.”

Odin says nothing.  

“Suit yourself,” and the wrench rises above her head.  

Odin’s engine roars suddenly and loudly—to a point where she has to throw herself to the ground before she hits him on the bonnet out of reflex.  She’s back on her feet not two seconds later with vengeance in her eyes. 

“Are you _insane_?” she hisses, jabbing the wrench in the direction of her neighbours.  “Now they’re gonna be wondering what’s going on you stupid—”

Odin’s engine whines  in protest.  He beeps, and one of his headlights flash on the tool in her hand. 

“I wasn’t going to hit you!” Lightning tosses the tool to prove her point.  “I just want an apology.  You think your life is easy?  I’d like to see you try to survive one _hour_ in my shoes."

Odin’s headlights flash at her then, which is the human equivalent of someone rolling their eyes.

“Look, I don’t care what kind of buddy-buddy relationship you had with my father but as far as I’m concerned, he was a total stranger to me.  After mom died I raised Serah on my own, and look how well she’s doing.  So if your interaction with me is any indicator of the kind of man he was, and the company he kept, then Serah and I were definitely better off without him.  I don’t even know why I’m telling you this—it’s not something you could ever understand.”

Something in her words jolts the car, because Odin’s engine switches off altogether.  And then she hears his voice.  It’s faint and there’s a lot of static like the sound of someone trying to tune a radio, but it’s there all the same. 

‘...SORRY…’

“ _Thank_ you.”

‘FATHER WAS…GOOD MAN…’

“Apology accepted,” Lightning snaps, ignoring that last part. 

‘GOOD MAN…’ Odin insists.  ‘…LOVED…PROTECT…’’

“Yeah I get it.  Conspiracy, government, evil…’

‘DANGEROUS…’ Odin continues.  ‘FAMILY…SACRIFICE…’

Lightning collapses into a chair and buries her head in her hands, weary.  This is all beginning to sound like the plot of a young adult novel or a comic (probably is). Her hand travels to the lightning-shaped pendant around her neck; a keepsake of her mother’s, and she squeezes it for comfort, like she's always been doing out of habit. 

“Odin I have a test worth _40_ % of my entire grade, and two essays due the day after and I’ve wasted the entire night arguing with you.  On top of that I have _no_ ride; I _don’t_ get paid until next week—’

‘DRIVE... _ME_ …’

“Yeah,” Lightning scoffs.  “ _Right_.”

“…I'M...FASTER…”

“Odin you’re not getting it: _I can’t afford you_.  People are going to ask questions.”

“COWARD,” Odin declares, and with such vehemence that Lightning clamps her mouth shut and silently fumes. It’s bait, she knows very well it’s bait, but the urge to prove him and everyone else wrong in her life has been hardwired into her DNA since childhood so all she finds herself saying is,

“ _Fine_.  See if I care when PSICOM comes swooping in for the kill.  I’m going to do burnouts in the student parking lot and everything.”   

“FINE…” Odin replies, petulant.

She can't help but smile.  The guy's got spunk. 

* * *

Life goes on, but not in the way she expects. 

If anything, it reverts to default.  No one asks questions, she aces her test; her essays are handed back to her with promises of glowing recommendation and Odin toots his horn proudly in a show of support at the news.  She doesn’t understand this sudden change in amicability from the car, but she attributes it to the two of them deciding to be adults about the hand they’ve been dealt. She’s asked Odin countlessly about why he’s here but all he tells her is that she isn’t in any imminent danger so there isn’t a need to disclose the details.  She wants to know what ‘danger’ he’s talking about, but given it’s been a few months with little consequence she’s sort of accepted that if Odin isn’t worried she shouldn’t be either. 

Until the academic year finishes and she opens the basement door to the garage in time to see Odin backing quietly out onto the street before speeding into the night; however.

“Son of a bitch!”

* * *

She makes the jump, and lands onto the next rooftop, rolling to break her fall, causing a flock of pigeons to erupt in frantic exodus.  Without breaking momentum she continues, and she’s glad she has gloves because she shorts the next jump and _just_ manages to cling on to the side of the five-storey building.  By the time she’s pulled herself up she’s laughing breathlessly. Adrenaline has her heart pumping a mile a minute as she stares into the dark alleyway below.

She’s always known in addition to being a certified Krav Maga instructor that becoming adept in Parkour and Free-Running would be useful for something; she just doesn’t expect it to be when you’re trying to trail your car without being seen.  It’s an impossible and absurd scenario, but it’s happening and there’s really nothing else she can do about the matter except follow through.  

Still, _t_ _hat_ was close.

There’s an old man who’s been sitting in a lawn chair, smoking from a pipe who's just witnessed the entire display. 

“Most folks opt for the fire escape,” he says, and Lightning shrugs, walking over to the edge and measuring the distance for her next jump. “Lady Luck’s on your side, girlie.  Best not to push it?”

She takes some steps backward and evens her breathing.  “I’m in a hurry.”

“For death?”

“For answers,” Lightning says.  She begins to run again.

“Be careful what you wish for,” he calls.

It’s much too late for that.

* * *

She ends up at a factory just outside the city limits in time to see her car leap off a ramp, switching into knight mode mid-air and engaging another machina in hand to hand combat.

'WHERE IS THE CRYSTAL!” the machina demands, tossing Odin to the ground and kicking him in the ribs.  “I...KILLED...FARRON!” he yells in between each assault, and Lightning freezes at the name.  “GIVE IT UP! YOU HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO LIVE FOR!”

She watches in horror as Odin spots her behind a stack of crates and time freezes as she sees genuine fear in his eyes.  It’s a chilling moment of clarity when she realizes that this—the scene before her— _this_ is the danger he’s been talking about.  This is the reality he’s been hiding from her because he’s never wanted her involved in the first place, but now that she is, it opens her to a whole new world of questions and possibilities about the life she’s lived (or thinks she’s lived) until now. 

“…RUN…” Odin whispers before things begin to speed up again, and he’s trying to defend against the machina’s kicks.  

“HE'S HIDDEN IT, HASN'T HE?  HASN'T HE!”

Odin lets himself get tossed and he smashes headfirst into a building, drawing the battle away from her.  The other machine produces a bloodied sword and drags it along the gravel.

“IF I RECALL CORRECTLY…” the machina is chuckling menacingly now “FARRON HAD A _FAMILY_ …”

Odin is picked up by the neck and slammed against the nearest wall. Once, twice...

“YOU'VE FOUND THEM, HAVEN'T YOU,” the blade presses against Odin’s neck, producing black motor oil, but Lightning still feels bile rise in her throat.  Blood is still blood no matter what the colour. 

‘ANY LAST WORDS BEFORE I TAKE YOUR PLACE AND SLAUGHTER THEM IN THEIR SLEEP?”

“RUN…” Odin says.

“I'M NOT THE ONE WHO'S _DYING_ , STUPID.”

“He means _me_ asshole!”  And before Lightning even knows what’s happening she’s on her feet and throwing rocks at the machina.  “Get up and fight you coward!”

The machina looks from Odin to her in quiet bemusement before he finally makes the connection.  Then he tosses Odin aside; begins stalking her.  By then she’s already running.  

'THAT'S A LOVELY NECKLACE YOU'VE GOT THERE.'

The ground shakes as it comes after her in hot pursuit.  She slides over the hood of a car before it is knocked carelessly aside.

“WHY SO _SHY_?” she hears him cackle “I ONLY WANT TO _TALK_.’

More cars and other heavy obstacles go flying this way and that until he finally corners her.  The thing smiles then, and it’s the _ugliest_ smile she’s ever seen, but it doesn’t last long; thankfully, because the next thing she knows, Odin’s sword emerges violently from its chest cavity. The enemy immediately goes limp and crumples to the ground after Odin pushes him off his sword with his foot. Just as it hits the gravel the body begins to corrode; slowly at first and then at an alarmingly fast rate.  Soon all that is left is an orange-red rust pile that gets swept away by the wind.

Well isn't  _that_ convenient.

“Thanks,” Lightning manages to say. 

Odin just glares at her.  ‘ _STUPID_ ,’ he snarls ‘…SHOULD NOT… _FOLLOWED_!’

“ _I’m_ stupid?” Lightning returns the glare.  “Maybe if _you_ didn’t keep secrets from me and _trusted_ me this wouldn’t have happened!  You’re lucky I don’t have my wrench or else I’d knock some sense into you!”

That’s rich, considering Odin could probably just flick her away with a finger.

“NOT LIFE…FATHER WANTED…”

“No shit.  What else have you neglected to tell me?”

Odin is about to answer but upon hearing police sirens in the distance he switches (or rather collapses) back into car form. The driver’s door swings open.

“You’ve got a lot of explaining to do,” Lightning mutters. 

In answer, the glove box unlocks itself, revealing a wrapped parcel with her name and address on it.  The contents turn out to be a hard drive, along with a messy note from her father saying there’s no going back after this. 

She fastens her seatbelt for the ride.

* * *

Inside the Audi Lightning takes a bite out of her burger, pointing at the picture on her laptop display. “ _Ei-do-lon_ …that’s you, yes?”

"YES..."

Lightning continues to scroll through the diagrams "From the planet Cocoon that was recently destroyed by _your_ war with the _Fal-Cie_. Over some crystal that one of you beamed to another planet before they could get their hands on it."

"...SCATTERED …SEARCHING…FAL-CIE WILL NOT STOP…FAMILY…IN DANGER…YOUR  _FATHER_ …ASSISTED…HID CRYSTAL…"

"So whose bright idea was it to send the crystal here?"

Odin goes quiet. And then, "...MINE..."

Lightning sighs. 

Somehow she's not surprised.

* * *

The next morning she’s all packed and ready for the day long drive to Eden—Serah could be in danger as well—but her plans come to a screeching halt when Odin’s engine refuses to start. 

“What’s wrong?”

‘…EMERALD FAL-CIE...DAMAGED…’

She tries to be patient; fails.  “Well can’t you…I don’t know, _heal_ or something?”

‘…MECHANIC…’

“Odin I’m broke.  I can’t afford a mechanic.”

‘…MECHANIC…’ Odin says, and then the sun visor on the passenger side lowers, revealing a post-it note with an address written in neat cursive. 

“Is it free?” Lightning asks, wary.

‘…YES…TRUSTWORTHY…BUT…FATHER WOULD NOT…APPROVE’

Well _there’s_ one thing her and dad would have agreed on.  “Are you implying you’ve been there _before_?”

There’s guilt in Odin’s tone.  ‘…OFTEN.’

Lightning crosses her arms and glowers. 

Odin is smart enough not to say anything more at that point.

* * *

She only has enough money for a one-way trip with the tow car driver to the place and the steel gates in front of the mansion they pull up to is far from the dirty, greasy, workshop she had been imagining. There’s a plaque on the wall nearest to the driver’s seat and in old-style font it reads (or rather proclaims):

**CAELUM MANOR**

“Some fancy mechanic you got there lady,” the driver remarks after he’s unhooked Odin.  “Who in their right mind would waste time rolling around in oil when they can roll around in their millions?”

“Exactly what _I_ want to know,” Lightning says, glaring at Odin.

He squirts grease on her sneakers in response. 

She kicks him in the tyre; encounters stabbing pain and a weird look from the tow car driver for her trouble.

* * *

Irony seems be clinging to her like a second skin these days, because as a law-abiding citizen _studying_ law, she is doing everything _but_ adhere to it. 

It’s all Odin’s fault.  There was a sign warning against trespassers just outside the property, and if things go south she knows she wouldn’t be able to get away fast enough. It’s an odd sort of catch-22 she’s found herself in: on one hand, she needs to find the so-called owner of the property named ‘Noctis Lucis Caelum’; on the other there’s still the possibility of her getting _sued_ for trespassing.  Odin did imply that her father didn’t approve of the machina’s coming here so by extension that probably means _her_ as well.

The sound of metal clanking against metal over loud, pop music catches her attention and she follows it like a shark on the scent of blood. 

 _Mechanic,_ she repeats to herself like a mantra.  _Odin said mechanic._

She finds the grease-stained workshop she’s been looking for and bumps into a man sitting on a Harley Davidson just outside with gravity-defying blonde hair.  He'd been in the middle of pulling on a pair of goggles when Lightning cautiously approaches and points to the name on the post-it note.  There’s no way she’s going to bother shouting over the noise.  In answer the man points to the inside of the workshop where a pair of black boots are protruding from a GMC TopKick C4500, moving with the beat.

“Don’t worry,” he says as the Harley’s engine guns to life and he revs it a few times.  “You’re _definitely_ not trespassing.”

 _What the hell is that supposed to mean,_ Lightning wants to ask, but he's gone before the words even leave her mouth.  Resigned, she makes a beeline for the iPod in the docking station and steels herself as she hits Pause. 

 _“I'M GONNA SWIIING FROM THE CHANDE—_ hey what the hell…” the person underneath the truck growls as he pushes himself out.  Lightning’s hands clench into fists, preparing herself.  “Cloud I _swear to God_ I’m gonna…” he trails off, seeing her instead and rather than demand _what the hell she’s doing on his property,_ he…

...smiles.

Despite the hours she’s invested in performing critical analyses Lightning can’t figure out why. 

“Hi.” He says, breaking the silence.

“Uh…hi.” Lightning returns, awkwardly. The tone is familiar, but she can't place it.

“Not a Sia fan?”

“I… _what?_ ”  

“Never mind,” he says, sitting up. “How can I help?”

“This is going to sound crazy,” Lightning says while he goes over to the tap and starts scrubbing off the grease “you see my _car_ —”

“Got his ass handed to him again?” he smiles, reaching for a cloth and drying his hands with it.

“—yeah and I can’t afford a—wait…you _know?_ About _—_ ”

“The machina war?” Lightning nods and he shrugs, like it’s general knowledge.  “Pretty much.”

“How do _you_ —”

“You don’t remember me, do you?” he says, cutting her off. There’s amusement in his tone, but she also catches hints of hurt and accusation.  And it’s ridiculous, to be brutally honest.  She’s a struggling university student here on a _scholarship_ ; there’s no way their social circles would ever overlap.   
  
As much as she wants to point _that_ out, however, the fact remains that Odin is her safest ticket to Serah and she needs the eidolon up and running as soon as possible.

“You’re not in any of my classes,” Lightning says, in an attempt to be diplomatic. 

“ _Huh_ …”

Laughter suddenly erupts from the GMC.  “HAH! I _KNEW_ SHE WOULDN'T REMEMBER YOU," he says, like he's won a bet.  “AND THERE _YOU_ WERE, BRAGGING YOUR _ASS_ OFF ABOUT MAKING SUCH A _GREAT_ IMPRESSION, WHEN  _REALLY_ _…_ ” the laughter continues, without any indication of stopping soon.

“A machina,” Lightning realizes quietly.  _God, how many more of these things are out there?_  

“Yeah.  And he doesn’t know when to _shut up_ ,” the mechanic adds, tossing the rag at the GMC.  Without touching Lightning he calmly reaches around and starts herding her out of the workshop.  “Where’s Odin?”

“Outside the gates,” Lightning says. “There wasn’t anyone in the security booth so I jumped the fence and—”

He stops in his tracks and stares at her, incredulous.  “You jumped the fence?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s _nine_ -feet high.”

“Parkour,” Lightning explains, impatient.  “Hey look, I’m broke right now so I can’t—”

His attention still seems to be elsewhere.  “Wow, parkour, really?”

“Uh, yeah. It’s a hobby.  I—”

“Amazing.  What other hobbies do you have?”

Why is he so curious about her?  Ahh fuck, there’s no time to waste on details.  Serah’s life hangs in the balance.

“I’m a Krav Maga instructor at the Rec Centre.” Lightning obliges, before continuing.  “Listen, I’m kind of in a hurr—”

“Krav Maga like in the Bourne flicks, right?”

For fuck’s sake.  “Right.”

“Awesome.”

“Thanks.  Anyway, like I was saying—”

“A WOMAN AFTER YOUR OWN HEART, HUH NOCT?” the GMC cuts in, and Lightning falls silent as she finally understands.  Then she narrows her eyes at the man beside her.  She’s definitely sure they’re complete strangers, but maybe she hit her head and lost a few days because that’s the only reasonable explanation she can think for this boy actually being…well, _smitten_ with her.  He’s attractive, she’ll give him that, but it’s still weird. 

Noctis’ face and ears redden and he tugs her along by the elbow.  “Bahamut’s got a few screws loose.  He doesn’t know what he's talking about.”

“ _Clearly_ ,” Lightning says, stopping and crossing her arms. 

“Ooh, I like her,” says the GMC while Noctis rubs the back of his neck uncomfortably. 

“You said Odin needed fixing?” he mutters, avoiding her gaze.  

Lightning decides he’s lucky she finds the blush on his face endearing and that she needs his help. "Yeah.  This way."

One more knight in shining armour to add to the list, it seems.  

A shame she can't remember him.

* * *

“So where are you guys headed?” Noctis asks a few days later while he tweaks under Odin’s hood. They've lapsed into a strange camaraderie that sits on the continuum between awkward and 'meh'.  The awkwardness is on his part, because he tends to look away when she looks directly at him (which is usually when she's caught him staring).

“It’s probably better you don’t know.”

“Why not?  We're on the same side, aren’t we?”

Lightning shrugs and indicates to the car.  “He tells me my father wouldn’t have approved of this arrangement.”

At that Noctis laughs, somewhat knowingly.  “ _That’s_ for sure.”

“What do you mean?”

“I had the honour of meeting your dad a few years back.  He and my old man were close.  Still are—I mean, _were_.  I’m sorry about—”

Lightning waves it off.  “If they were close, that doesn’t…”

“Yeah he wasn’t really the talkative type, but a few beers could change that.  We were drinking one night and he mentioned he had a family.  Told me he had two daughters, one of whom would have been my age.  Said they were ‘beautiful, just like their mother’.  He even had pictures of you-- _recent_ pictures.  He was never really far away, you know."

"Uh- _huh_ ," Lightning murmurs, unsure what to make of that.  

" _Then_ he grabs me by the collar and threatens to chop my balls off.  ‘ _I don’t care how rich you are.  No two-bit Caelum is coming near my girls.’_ ” Noctis finishes with a chuckle.  “That about explain it for you?”

 _Father of the year,_ Lightning thinks, feeling a slight emptiness in her heart.  “That can’t be the only reason.”

“The crystal hanging around your neck might be one too.”

Her hand immediately closes around it, defensive, but he laughs. _  
_

“You know, you could actually use it to fix Odin’s voice box if you wanted,” he says.  “Before it got damaged he was never much of a talker, so maybe you’ll have better luck with him than I do with Bahamut.”

‘I _HEARD_ THAT,’ Bahamut calls, from where he’s parked.  

* * *

Things take time.

Lightning has enough patience to understand _that_ , but halfway into the second week she realizes a teeny detail she overlooked because of the overwhelming relief that Noctis is nice enough not to charge her for his services.  It's a falcon punch to the face as it hits her hard:

He basically implied on her first day at the mansion that he’s been fixing Odin after _every_  , secret life-threatening confrontation with the Emerald fal-Cie and if she thinks back, Odin was _completely fine_ when he drove them home after he saved her from it.  The revelation that the two have been lying doesn't amuse her as much as it pisses her off. 

Noctis is underneath Odin’s chassis when she kicks him in the leg.

There is an almighty CLUNK as he startles and his head bumps against the steel frame; accompanied by a trail of expletives before he rolls out and frowns at her. 

“What was  _that_  for?” he says, getting up and rubbing the black stain in the middle of his forehead.  Lightning just grabs him by the collar and shoves him against the driver's side window, her forearm at his throat.  

"Hey what the-"

“Odin’s already fixed, isn’t he?” She demands, before glaring at the Audi she’s sandwiched him against.  “ _Aren’t you?”_

‘…NOT  _COMPLETELY_ …’ Odin admits quietly.

“ _Bullshit_! You’ve been fine all this time, haven’t you?” when Odin refuses to answer she slams Noctis against the car.  “ _Hasn’t_ he?”

Noctis swallows nervously.  “There's a good explanation for that,” 

“Oh, _please_ enlighten me,” Lightning rolls her eyes, releasing him.

He shifts uncomfortably under her gaze and scratches the back of his neck.  “See, when Odin said you guys would be leaving I…actually asked him to bring you here first.”

“Why would he do that?” Lightning says, before rounding on Odin.  “Why would you do that?  You just _said_ my father wouldn’t have—”

“It was a _favour_ for my help in fixing him over and over,” Noctis says, like it’s _meant_ to make the gears in her head churn faster.  “I know you’re broke, but it’s never been about the money.”

She huffs, putting her hands on her hips.  “Then what _is_ it about?”

Odin revs his engine pointedly.  

“Odin," Lightning growls "I swear, when we get back on the road your voice box is going to—”

The driver’s door swings open, knocking Noctis right on top of her. As his face lands mere inches from hers, Bahamut wolf-whistles appreciatively and Lightning just _stares_ , stunned as the realization hits her. 

“Uh…” Noctis begins, a blush tinting his cheeks. 

“If you don't get off before reach I three I'm going to kick your ass.  One, two-”

He's on his feet before she reaches three.  "Sorry," he mumbles, pulling her up.

"You'd better be." 

* * *

A few days later--because it turns out that they were waiting on a car part to arrive for Odin-the awkwardness doesn’t quite die away, but there is a little improvement on Noctis’ part.  He’s slightly more open around her, and it’s probably because she didn’t actually flat out reject him. 

(She really needs to stop sitting on the fence though—it’s a bad habit for an aspiring Prosecutor to have.  Yes, she apparently still thinks she can have a legal career _while_ having a role to play in the Eidolon-Fal-cie war.) 

The insight seems to inspire hope in Noctis, because the more they talk, the more he exudes a confidence she’s sure he’d exhibit only in front of his friends. 

 _All he needs is time_ , she figures. A shame _she_ doesn’t have any to spare--he’s started to grow her.  There’s attraction, yes, but she’s still worried about how quickly he became taken by her.  And she can't help but wonder: _i_ _s he like this with_ all _his crushes?_   It's impulsive behaviour and there's not a lot of confidence to be gleaned from that fact.  She’s a girl who prides herself on thinking things through; always has, always will.   
Still; he probably might be the only date-able, good-looking mechanic who _actually knows what’s going on_ , so she'd be an idiot for ruling him out _._   

After she closes the car door he taps on the window and Odin slides it down when it becomes apparent she has no intention to (damn machina).

“What are you gonna do when you find your sister?” Noctis asks, leaning an arm against the frame. “You guys coming back?”

“Don’t know,” Lightning says.  “Odin says we can’t because other fal-cie will come looking for Emerald.  Maybe you and your dad should probably skip town too.”

He nods.  “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea...”

“Shenanigans aside, thanks for looking after Odin--I owe you one. I don’t know how I’m ever going to pay you back, but if you ever need--”

“Actually there is _one_ thing…”

 _Well that was fast_ , Lightning thinks, mood souring instantly.   _Give a man an inch..._

“What is it?”

He leans in and kisses her softly on the cheek.  “I _guess_ you could let me know when you’re ready to slow down?” 

“You’re the weirdest boy I’ve ever met, just so you know” Lightning proclaims, but her stomach does somersaults like mad anyway. 

“And lucky for _you;_ _I’m_ not in any hurry,” he adds slyly. 

Lightning rolls her eyes.  “Keep telling yourself that.”

She has a silly grin the whole ride over, though.

"I LIKE HIM," Odin says, when Bodhum is finally behind them.

"Shut up."

* * *

  _ **-fin-**_

 

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to pay tribute to Sam and Michaela here and it came out a lot more crack than I intended.  
> Bahamut is basically Ironhide.


End file.
